


Touch Me Harder

by Masu_Trout



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Animal Transformation, Friendship, Gen, Mid-Canon, Team Dynamics, Touch-Mes are terrifying, Treat (as opposed to a trick), Treat (as opposed to an assigned work)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-23 22:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4894846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masu_Trout/pseuds/Masu_Trout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tifa used to think she'd seen everything the world could possibly throw at her.</p><p>That, of course, was before Cloud turned into a frog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touch Me Harder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kharasma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kharasma/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy, Kharasma! I liked your prompts a lot.
> 
> Thanks also to [casskets](https://archiveofourown.org/users/casskets/pseuds/casskets), who did a fantastic job of betaing this for me.

It was in the middle of a battle, fast-paced and fierce, that it finally happened: Cloud fell over and croaked. A moment later, he did it again.

“ _What?_ ” Tifa yelped, gaping in slack-jawed horror. One of the enemies took her distraction as a chance to run in and strike—she barely managed to dodge the blow.

“Careful, Tifa!” Red XIII stood on her other side, fending off the monsters with snapping teeth and an occasional burst of fire from the materia set into his hairclip. “We need to defeat these first.” He spoke as calmly as ever, but she could see the tension in his stance.

“Right,” she said. She called a lightning bolt down on another monster, frying it where it stood.

These enemies were something else to deal with—they'd been coming in droves for hours and hours, ever since their group had entered this godforsaken forest. Tifa's muscles were cramping, she felt about ready to fall over, and, most of all, she was sick and tired of the scent of _burnt frog_.

Red XIII lashed out and tore into the throat of one of the bizarre frog-monsters while Tifa snapped the spine of another. They stood back-to-back, panting, until the meaning of the silence finally hit them both: they had finally destroyed the last of the monsters. Tifa swayed on her feet, nearly falling over from the sudden rush of relief and exhaustion. 

No time to rest, she told herself. Not when part of their team was unaccounted for.

“Cloud!” she called, heading over to where she'd seen him stumble and fall. Part of her had assumed she must have been mistaken, must have been seeing things somehow, but in the post-battle lull there was no mistaking it.

Cloud had turned into a frog.

A rather nice frog, Tifa had to admit. It—he—was a dull sort of goldenrod color with a bulging vocal sac and splotches of brown running down his back and sides. He was quite a bit larger than the frogs she'd seen in Midgar, but whether that was because he'd been human up until a few seconds ago or simply because _everything_ was bigger here she couldn't say.

He sat perched upon the Buster Sword, flicking his eyelids occasionally and looking perfectly content with his current state.

“Cloud?” Tifa asked. “Cloud, if you can understand me, hop once.”

The frog blinked once more, tilted his head slightly, and promptly fell over.

“Okay,” she said. “I'll take that as a yes.”

Red XIII padded over, staring at Cloud curiously. In response, Cloud stuck his tongue out.

“Red, have you ever heard of anything like this before?” 

Red XIII tilted his head and flicked his tail in what she'd come to recognize as a thoughtful gesture. “Well, I don't know anyone it's happened to personally, of course. But my grandfather has told me stories about this sort of thing before.” He snorted. “I'd always assumed he was joking, honestly.”

_If only._

She couldn't even imagine what Barret's face would look like if she told him Cloud was retiring from AVALANCHE leader on account of being a frog. Would he be angry or would he just laugh?

Aerith would probably do her best to take care of him—she already tolerated the Turks tromping around her garden,so there had to be enough space for one extra pest. 

Yuffie... Yuffie would definitely try to sell him. She could see the ad already: FOR SALE: ONE EX-MERCENARY TURNED AMPHIBIAN. 5000 GIL OR BEST OFFER.

“It is reversible, right?” 

To Tifa's immense relief, Red XIII nodded. “I believe so, although it can be a rather persistent condition—time and rest alone won't cut it. According to my grandfather, those afflicted would often use a maiden's kiss to restore themselves to normal.”

“Eurgh. Are you serious?” Tifa nearly gagged.

Cloud stared innocently up at her, vocal sac bulging in and out as he breathed. She couldn't leave him this way—there was no way she'd ever abandon Cloud to a fate like this. But the alternative...

She sighed, leaning down, and scooped Cloud up. He was big enough that her hands couldn't quite wrap all the way around his middle, and his legs dangled towards the forest ground. Red XIII stared at her with something that could have been confusion or curiosity. She wanted to ask him to turn around but—well, it wasn't like it would matter, would it? He would still know exactly what was going on.

Fuck her life.

“Wait,” Tifa said. “Which definition of 'maiden' are we working with here? Because I really only fit one, and I'm not doing this for nothing.”

Being the woman who kissed a frog to save a friend's life was one thing; being the woman who kissed a frog just because it was there was another entirely.

“What..?” Red XIII asked. A moment passed before he reared back, eyes wide, and shook his head viciously. “No! Wait, please, that's not what I meant.”

Despite the situation, Tifa couldn't help but laugh. Red XIII's tail was wrapped tightly against his body, his scruff bristled, and if he sunk down any lower he was going to disappear into his paws. Everything about his pose was the very picture of embarrassment.

Her amusement didn't seem to help much, but finally he uncurled a bit. “A maiden's kiss is a potion made from some sort of wild fruit—it's named for its sweetness. I wasn't talking about... _that_.”

“Oh. _Oh_.” Well, that certainly made a lot more sense than magical kisses. She gave Cloud a soft pat on the head, then gratefully set him back down onto the flat edge of the Buster Sword. Crisis averted—no point in dwelling on the thought of a mouthful of frog slime.

“Do you think they sell them in Gongaga?” 

Red XIII flicked his ears. “Probably, I'd assume. But do you think we can make it? Someone's going to have to carry Cloud's sword.”

Shit. Couldn't it have vanished way with the rest of his body? She sighed as she once again picked Cloud up and deposited him on Red XIII's back. Carefully avoiding the muck smeared across the blade, she wrapped her hands around the hilt and tugged.

Her boots sank into the marsh as she pulled; she could feel the slime seep in and gather around her toes. The more she struggled to lift it, the further she sank.

Once it was halfway out, Tifa let go. She needed to reposition herself, get a better foothold, or she'd just end up trapping herself as she freed the sword. She wiped her hands on her skirt, got ready to pull once more... and watched as the blade sank right back down into the swampy ooze.

Tifa swore tiredly. Stupid, stupid SOLDIER strength. Trust Cloud to lug around a blade no one else could carry properly. 

“Oh!” Red XIII said suddenly, brushing against her legs as he moved to look at the sword. “Let me try something.”

A hazy yellow glow shimmered around Red XIII's head, bathing his face in golden light. It spread slowly through the air until it touched the Buster Sword, then with a noise like the cracking of a gun the weapon disappeared.

“Huh?” Tifa peered down, looking into the space the light had left behind, to see—the Buster Sword. 

Or, more accurately, the Buster Dagger. The blade had shrunk to a tenth of its former size; it lay delicately in the impression its larger self had left behind.

Cloud croaked indignantly. 

“Perfect.” Tifa picked it up and slipped it into her belt. The blade—barely a foot long now—swung wildly without a sheath, but so long as she didn't brush against it she'd be fine. At least she could actually carry it now. “Great job, Red.”

Red XIII bared his teeth in a bestial grin. “Thank you. Be careful, though. The spell won't last more than an hour.”

Tifa nodded and scooped Cloud back into her arms. “Better get moving, then.” She paused as a sudden thought stuck her. “Oh, and Red?”

“Hm?”

“Let's _never_ mention this again.”

Barret would never let her live it down.


End file.
